Gas Act 1976
Functions of Board.
8. — F29[(1) (a) The Board shall own, operate, develop and maintain a system for the transmission and distribution of natural gas being a system that is both economical and efficient and appears to the Board to be requisite for the time being.
(b) Nothing in paragraph (a) shall be construed as imposing on the Board, either directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court to which it would not otherwise be subject.
(2) The Board shall carry out its obligations under this Act in accordance with Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20094 and having regard to the need to ensure the safety and security of the transmission, distribution and supply of natural gas.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) or to any provision of this Act apart from this section, within or outside the State, and subject to any requirements of law the Board may—
(a) transmit and distribute natural gas (whether or not such gas has been prepared, processed or treated),
(b) liquify or otherwise prepare, process or treat natural gas,
(c) fix, make and recover charges for any service or facility provided or thing undertaken pursuant to this section by the Board, or fix and accept subscriptions for any service or facility so provided,
(d) attach such terms and conditions as the Board shall think fit to any service or facility provided by it,
(e) provide, operate or maintain, or provide, operate and maintain, whether for use by the Board or any other person, such pipelines, terminals, pressure-reducing stations, off-take stations, vessels, vehicles, works, services, facilities or other things as are necessary or expedient in relation to, or ancillary to, the provision, development or maintenance of a gas transmission system and a distribution system,
(f) provide any or all of the following services and facilities relating to the development, transmission or distribution of gas, namely, advice or assistance, research services or research or training facilities,
(g) subject to subsection (4), subscribe or guarantee money for charitable or benevolent objects or to, or for, any institution or for any public, general or useful object,
(h) draw, make, accept, endorse, discount, negotiate or issue bills of exchange, promissory notes or other negotiable or transferable instruments,
(i) subject to subsection (5), accept a gift of money, land or other property upon such trusts and conditions (if any) as may be specified by the person making the gift,
(j) carry on any activity which appears to the Board to be requisite, advantageous or incidental to, or which appears to the Board to facilitate, the performance by the Board of any function under this Act.
(4) In case the Board pursuant to subsection (3)(g)—
(a) gives a subscription exceeding €2,000, or
(b) in any particular year gives for, or to, a particular object or institution two or more subscriptions the aggregate of which exceeds €2,000,
the subscription or subscriptions, as may be appropriate, together with the object or institution to which it or they relate shall be specified in the accounts kept by the Board pursuant to this Act.
(5) The Board shall not accept a gift pursuant to subsection (3)(i) if the trusts and conditions attached by the donor to its acceptance are inconsistent with the functions of the Board.
(6) Where the Board proposes to transfer to another person an interest in a pipeline or a part thereof that has been constructed by it pursuant to and in accordance with a consent given under this Act the Board shall obtain the prior consent of the majority-shareholding Minister, given with the approval of the Government, for such a transfer and the majority-shareholding Minister may attach such conditions as he or she deems appropriate to such a prior consent.
(7) In subsection (6)—
"interest" means any estate, right, title or other interest, legal or equitable and includes a licence;
"transfer" includes grant, demise and assign or, as appropriate, a grant, demise and an assignment.]
Annotations:
Amendments:
F29
Substituted (23.11.2015) by Gas Regulation Act 2013 (39/2013), s. 33, S.I. No. 520 of 2015.
Modifications (not altering text):
C12
Certain functions transferred and references to “Department of Public Enterprise” and “Minister for Public Enterprise” construed (27.07.2001) by Petroleum and Offshore Exploration (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2001 (S.I. No. 389 of 2001), arts. 3, 4 and table, subject to transitional provisions in arts. 5-7.
Note that the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources was most recently renamed as Communications, Climate Action and Environment (23.07.2016) by Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 421 of 2016), in effect as per art. 1(2).
3. The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any functions transferred by Article 4 of this Order are transferred to the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources.
4. (1) The functions vested in the Minister for Public Enterprise (being the title of that Minister by virtue of the Transport, Energy and Communications (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 (S.I. No. 299 of 1997)) by virtue of the Energy (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1993 (S.I. No. 12 of 1993), by or under the provisions of the Gas Act, 1976 (No. 30 of 1976), as amended, which are set out in column (1) of the Table to this article are hereby transferred to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources to the extent specified in column (2) of that Table opposite the mention of the section in the said column (1).
(2) References to the Minister for Public Enterprise and relating to any functions transferred by this Article shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources.
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Column 1 |
Column 2 |
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Provisions |
Extent of transfer |
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Sections 4, 6, 8, 27, 31, 32, 40A and Second Schedule |
In so far as they relate to any upstream pipeline network |
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Section 40 |
In so far as it is not already transferred by the Petroleum and Offshore Exploration (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 2000 (S.I. No. 110 of 2000), and to the extent that it relates to any upstream pipeline network. |
Editorial Notes:
E19
Previous affecting provision: functions transferred and references to “Department of Finance” and “Minister for Finance” construed (29.07.2011) by Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011), arts. 2, 3, 5 and sch. 1 part 2, in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 6-9; section substituted as per F-note above.
E20
Previous affecting provision: application of subs. (4) extended and references to the "Board" in subs. (6) construed as referring to the "ITO" (1.12.2011) by European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 630 of 2011), reg. 38(2)(a)(i) (iv), in effect as per regs. 1(2) and 12; revoked (19.01.2015) by European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 16 of 2015), reg. 29(1)(d). Note: notice in accordance with European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 630 of 2011), reg. 12 appears not to have been published.
E21
Previous affecting provision: subs. (3A) substituted (1.12.2011) by European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 630 of 2011), reg. 37(2), in effect as per regs. 1(2) and 12; section substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above. Note: notice in accordance with European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 630 of 2011), reg. 12 appears not to have been published.
E22
Previous affecting provision: subs. (3)(a) amended and subss. (3A), (3B) inserted (4.07.2008) by European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas) (BGÉ) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 760 of 2005), reg. 23(a), (b), in effect as per regs. 1(3) and 10; subs. (3A) substituted (1.12.2011) as per E-note above and section substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above. Note that S.I. No. 760 of 2005, reg. 23 was itself amended by the substitution of the amending subs. (3A) (10.07.2007) by European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas) (BGÉ) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 377 of 2007), reg. 8, in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E23
Previous affecting provision: section substituted (10.04.2002) by Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 (10/2002), s. 11, commenced on enactment; substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above.
E24
Previous affecting provision: subs. (7) applied in certain circumstances for transitional period (10.04.2002) by Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 (10/2002), s. 16(11), (14), (15), (16), (17), commenced on enactment; section substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above.
E25
Previous affecting provision: subs. (8)(b) amended, (c) inserted (10.07.2000) by Gas (Amendment) Act 2000 (26/2000), s. 23(a), (b), commenced on enactment; section substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above.
E26
Previous affecting provision: subss. (8A)-(8H) inserted (7.04.1993) by Gas (Amendment) Act 1993 (7/1993), s. 3, commenced on enactment; section substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above.
E27
Previous affecting provision: subss. (3), (7) amended, subs. (7A) inserted and subs. (8) substituted (7.04.1993) by Gas (Amendment) Act 1993 (7/1993), s. 2(a)-(c), commenced on enactment; section substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above.
E28
Previous affecting provision: subs. (7) applied in certain circumstances (9.07.1987) by Gas (Amendment) Act 1987 (9/1987), s. 2(6)(a), (b), commenced on enactment; s. 2 substituted (21.03.2014) by Gas Regulation Act 2013 (39/2013), s. 43, S.I. No. 520 of 2013.
E29
Previous affecting provision: subs. (7) substituted (9.07.1987) by Gas (Amendment) Act 1987 (9/1987), s. 3, commenced on enactment; section substituted (23.11.2015) as per F-note above.